Page 29 of Beauty and the Bayou

Juliet squinted up at Sawyer.“That’s because Sawyer probably has calluses that are two inches thick.”She looked at her brother.“Or did you develop calluses from the keg stands and video game controllers?”

Sawyer felt the corner of his mouth twitch.His callouses weren’tthatthick but, yeah, he worked with his hands, and yeah, his palms could probably leave a few tiny abrasions on Juliet’s smooth skin.

He felt his lower body tighten andalmostpushed those thoughts away.But, no, that was okay.Getting turned on by the thought of touching a woman, leaving faint marks, was normal.He was fine.

Safety goggles, no.Running his rough hands all over Juliet’s body, yes.

Chase sighed.“Where are the gloves?”

“Here.”She pulled another pair from another pocket on her tool belt.

“You had a backup pair?”Chase asked.

“Of course.”

“Of course,” Chase muttered.

“You guys start over there,” she said, pointing toward the farthest stack of wood.“I’ll start here.”

There were sawhorses set up in both locations and there were already boards resting on top of them for cutting and staining.

“We’re working separately?”Sawyer asked her.

She glanced at Chase and said, “The guys already hooked the extension cord to the saw and got it all set up,” she said.“But be sure you read the safety instructions.”

Chase opened his mouth, then shut it, and nodded.“You got it.”

Juliet waited until he was a few yards away, then said to Sawyer, “I haven’t gone over any of the plans or anything with Chase.I’d love it if you’d do that.”

“They’re your plans.”

“But you can review them with him.”

“Why wouldn’t you do it?”

“Mostly because I think it would be nice for him to learn it from you.But also because he’ll think I’ve overdone it all.”

Sawyer nodded, fighting a smile.“Have you?”He already knew the answer.He didn’t know her well, had really just met her, and yet some things about Juliet were very obvious.

“Probably,” she admitted.

One was that she went a little overboard on things.Another was that she was aware of it and was adorably self-deprecating about it.

Adorably.There was that word again.

“Why do you want him to learn it from me?Isn’t it a good thing for him to realize his sister knows how to use power tools and stuff?”Sawyer had been raised around extremely capable women.It had never occurred to him that his grandmothers, mom, sister, aunts, or really any of the women he knew, couldnotdo something they wanted to do.But some men needed to be whacked over the head with the idea that women were as capable, if notmorecapable, than men.

“Oh, Chase is very aware of what I can…and can’t…do,” Juliet said.Her gaze flicked away from Sawyer’s for a moment, then came back.

“Does he give you a hard time about things you can’t do?”Sawyer felt himself frowning.Did Juliet need him to teach Chase some manners?

“What?No,” she said, shaking her head.“Chase is awesome.We’re close.He’s always been great about…everything.”

There was a little pause before “everything.”Just like there had been before she said “can’t” before.“What’s everything?”

“Just…everything,” she said.“How things are.He’s always been my ally.Always been there with me.But I know he wants to do more.He does more with his stupid fraternity brothers and Ryan and Rhett…” She trailed off and then gave a little shrug.“I’d like him to have some more down-to-earth experiences.”

Sawyer felt a little lost.Chase wanted to do more.What did that mean?He’d been Juliet’s ally?That was a strange word to use.Wasn’t it?“Who are Ryan and Rhett?”Sawyer wasn’t sure why that was the question he’d finally settled on asking.But he sensed the rest of it had to do with something personal with Juliet.He didn’t need to get personal with her.Or Chase.He was personal with more than enough people.His people were a handful and he knew more details about all of them than he really cared to, honestly.

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